A selection of some of the earliest silent films. They are unidentified, but the first, The Car, looks like it came from Melies while the second, The Derby, is probably from the Lumiere Brothers. There is a paper print from Edison, and a very telling shot of Tsar Nicholas and entourage parading in front of the peasants in 1911. His days were numbered at that time.


This movie is part of the collection: Silent Films

Audio/Visual: sound, color
Keywords: silents; edison; melies; fistory of film

Creative Commons license: Attribution 3.0

Individual Files

Write a review
Downloaded 6,801 times Reviews
Average Rating:

Reviewer: Brian Pinette - - April 21, 2011
Subject: So very enjoyable!
Th creativity of these early camera operators is quite profound. Pre-dating many recognized creative geniuses with the use of close-ups, animation, "flying cara" etc. Thanks for sharing.

Reviewer: Iain MY - - January 31, 2011
Subject: Identifying the films
Nice selection of early films.
The Car is very reminiscent of Melies but was Robert W. Paul.
Information from IMDb:
The (?) Motorist 1906 aka Questionmark Motorist, Robert W. Paul
The Derby 1896, Robert W. Paul
The Big Swallow 1901, Williamson Kinematograph Company
Girls Swinging appears to be 1897 not 1902
The only Czar Nicholas II might be Lumiere 1896
I hope this helps.